robert nelson (dot) me

I have been considering picking up a Sprint MiFi since it became available, but for some reason I cannot justify making the purchase, which is strange.

I do have a need, well maybe not really a need, but it is something that will get used. I can, and have been getting by just fine without a MiFi, but at the same time I like to write from outside of the house from time to time and it would be nice to not to have to worry about finding a location with Wi-Fi available.

That said, I consider it strange because I was once a happy Palm.net subscriber which for the unlimited plan used to cost me $44.99 a month. Sure, that $44.99 is cheaper than the $59.95 that I will have to pay Sprint, but at least the MiFi offers full Internet access, which is unlike what the Palm.net service on the Palm VIIx used to offer.

The Palm.net service offered unlimited access, but only offered access to web clips which were known as Web Clippings. Basically the service allowed you to visit only certain pages that were formatted to fit nicely on the Palm VIIx display.

Given that, why can’t I justify a purchase of the MiFi? (and yes, that was really just me asking myself that question) It will get used, most likely at least 2-3 days a week. Maybe I have just gotten cheaper with age, or possibly it just seems a little more normal to me to depend on pubic Wi-Fi now.

[Palm VIIx image courtesy of Wikipedia]

I have been wondering something lately in regards to Twitter follows.

It seems to me that everyone expects that when you follow someone they are going to automatically follow you back. Personally I cannot understand why people believe that. I have even seen people complain and stop following someone for the simple reason that they did not get a return follow.

Well screw that, I don’t expect or really even care if I get a follow back, sure it is nice to get, especially if you are following someone for “good” reasons which basically means that you are interested in them and what they have to say, not to increase your numbers.

I follow people or companies because I WANT to follow them. My reasoning is simple, it is because they are offering me something of value. That something could be insight, news, comedic relief or many other things.

Now comes the part that I think is hard for lots of people to understand, just because that person or company is offering me value, it does not mean I would be offering them anything of value in return. In other words I should not expect an automatic return follow.

Maybe this is just my warped view, but I consider Twitter to be micro-blogging. That said I subscribe to plenty of blogs and have never even thought that the person should subscribe to my blog in return. And yes, I understand that Twitter is a social networking site, but it does not have to be ONLY a social networking site.

Why does following someone on Twitter have to be any different than following someone by way of a blogs RSS feed? In conclusion, you should follow only if that person gives you value and if you want a follow back make sure you are providing value in your Twitter stream.

Sometimes it may just be little details that offer a little validation. I was recently browsing through the App Store and discovered that I had been quoted not once, but twice for apps. The apps are Audiobook Player and RssPlayer.

On the Audiobook Player, the quote is just noted as coming from iPhonefreak.com (one of the sites that I am currently writing for), but that is OK because I know it was me that wrote the post.

The second quote is the nicer to see, it comes from the RssPlayer listing (my favorite iPhone app) and not only has a quote, with my name, but I am listed along side two (much more influential) people — Leo Laporte and Cali Lewis.

Overall, this really does not mean much, its certainly not going to give me a raise or more money in my pocket but at the same time, it is nice to see that at least one person is reading my writing.